C10 Nothing but assumptions

They had left the forest behind them and were now on the federal highway. Air was again flowing through Markus’ lungs because the asthma spray had done its life saving duty.

They had not met one human soul, neither in the forest, nor on the streets, and not even one of those things was staggering around. Soon after they had left the military base Marie had climbed on to the backseat and had cuddled up under the blanket, pressing her unicorn closely to her body. She had wrapped the blanket tightly around her tiny body, only her head was visible and she was starring self-absorbed out of the window.

It had to be incredibly hard for the child to process those last experiences. Markus was relieved that she did not want to talk about those horrible things. He felt exhausted and tired, but he had to keep on driving in order to increase the distance between them and the monsters because he did not know what else they were capable of.

Meanwhile he was trying to come to terms what had happened, but he could not even remotely manage to do that. The thing with the sick persons he could comprehend, also that they would die because of that sooner or later. But that the dead were coming back to life. No, that was inexplicable, no matter how he looked at it.

The dead cannot be resurrected, even though they had used this idea time and time again as the basis for their role playing scenarios.

It had been only a couple of days ago, since he had lain in the trench with Sabine and that he had accepted the idea as a given fact. But now this horror had become a reality, enough minds had thought about it over and over again, literally calling for it to happen. He shook his head, trying desperately to cling to reality when everything around him had gone mad.

Bullshit, that is not possible. Once a human being was dying his heart stopped beating and the brain stopped working after being deprived of oxygen and fresh blood for a while. As the whole body was controlled by the brain and the heart this should be the end of the road.

That had been a scientific fact for all of life, throughout all of time. How the Hell was it then possible for them to get up again being completely deprived of any motor skills?

Without any controlling system! Maybe all of this was the result of a secret experiment, or some mutation or something from outer space? Those thoughts made him shiver and got him scared, so he decided to accept this circumstance as a given fact.

After all, he had seen it with his own eyes. In spite of everything he felt that the doctor’s behavior and maybe Helmut’s as well, were exceptions because they had not behaved brain dead at all like the other infected, but instead had seemed in control somehow.

They had acted with purpose. They even had conversations. They had acted totally different from the Russian and the nurses.

Were those exceptions or was there a system behind this?

That was the big question now, but only one of many. He was jerked out his thoughts suddenly when his mobile reported itself back with a bleeping sound. It had charged enough in order to be operable. He started typing a message with one hand, while he kept on driving, steering the car with his left hand. He had to write a message, right now.

>> Annette, I’m still on the road. Please touch base. Do not leave the house under any circumstances, no matter what happens. Don’t open the door for anyone. It’s more than a sickness. The dead came back to life, hunting the living. Hang in there, I’m on my way. M. <<

After that he simply did not think of anything anymore, he was watching the trees and bushes passing by his windows. The only thing that mattered now was to move forward as far and fast as possible. Meanwhile, Marie had fallen asleep.